USD Magazine, Spring 1995

Father Vinyard's temporary parishioners are asking that question themselves these days. Their priest has experienced complications and though Father Vinyard and the retired priest are filling in when possible during his extended recovery, they can't always be there when needed. This puts the parishioners in a quandary that more commu– nities are facing today. The cornerstone of Catholic faith is embedded in seven sacraments - baptism, confirmation, Holy Eucharist, penance, anointing of the sick, matrimony and holy orders. Despite the laity's steadily broadening participation in the church, church law decrees that only ordained clergy can preside at the celebration of sacraments. So, while the laity can carry on the teachings and the traditions of the church, they must have regular access to members of the clergy to perpetuate the soul of the church. As parishioners have increasingly accepted leadership positions in the church, they also have sought more education in theolo– gy and religious studies. At USO, the theological and religious studies department saw this emerging need and in 1976 found– ed a graduate program specifically for lay people who wanted to become more involved in ministry. In those early days, the pro– gram offered one degree, now called a master of arts in practical theology. Eventually, a second degree was added, a master of arts in pastoral counseling. Since 1976, about 120 students have earned a master's degree in pastoral counseling or practical theology. True to the program's original intent, the majority of students are lay peo– ple, though a few nuns and priests have enrolled as well. The graduates work in an array of positions, from deacons, youth ministers and chaplains to teachers, diocesan staff members and directors of religious education. The department also runs the Institute for Christian Ministries, which provides adult education on a number of reli– gious topics for the local community. In addition, the universi– ty's campus ministry department operates a number of adult and religious education programs for the campus community and the general public. This better-educated populace has invigorated and challenged priests and nuns, who traditionally were the sole fonts of reli– gious knowledge in the church. "When I grew up, Father had the answer for anything that had to do with religion," recalls Father Pachence. "If Father didn't have the answer, then we went to Sister. It was pre– sumed that the people in the pews were not educated in these things. When I go out to a parish now, my presumption is that quite a few people out there have studied scripture and spiritu– ality. I'm not the theological know-it-all." Diana Raiche '91 (M.A.), an alumna of USD's graduate the– ological and religious studies program, is one of those educated parishioners. As director of catechetical ministry at St. James/ St. Leo Catholic Community in Solana Beach, Calif., Raiche oversees the numerous religious education programs in the parish and its school, and works with 140 volunteer catechists

S1s!er ( (continued) was piqued and she decided the only way she could truly know if this life was right for her was to live it. She did just that by beginning her year of candidacy, a period in which a woman wishing to enter a religious order lives with the nuns, learns more about the order and may work part-time in one of the order's ministries. After that follows two years as a novice, in which a candidate intensifies her study of the order, her ministry work and her contemplation of spirituality. Those ,vho continue on to the next step - the "young professed" life - profess temporary vows of six years . The final step is to pro– fess final vows, becoming what is called a "professed." During her young professed life, Sister Clinton was given the opportunity to teach biology in Houston. She discovered that she had a gift for teaching and quickly earned a master's degree in education from the University of Houston. She knows now that a higher power has been guiding her life and continues to speak to her today through her work. "It's ironic that I went to a Catholic university and that I entered a congregation with apostolic education as its main source of life, " she muses. "I think, too, that the more I teach biology, the more I believe in God. You can explain how, but can you explain why?" After six years at the Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart in suburban Houston, Sister Clinton is now teacliing and devel– oping the science program at ]osephinum High School, a private Catholic girls' school in inner-city Chicago. Though the settings of the two schools are quite different, Sister Clinton's goals as a teacher are still the same . "I want to increase my students' interest and decrease their fear as women in science," she says simply. At the blackboard, and as a coach on the volleyball court, Sister Clinton also has the opportunity to show how spirituality fits into everyday life and, at the same time, clear up some of the mysteries of being a nun. Her students are a bit timid at first, she says, but they warm up quickly. "One student asked me, 'Do all nuns have short hair and play the guitar?"' she laughs. "I told her they don't all play the guitar, but short hair is really convenient when you swim." It's inevitable that life in a religious community draws curios– ity in today's American culture, which values independence and privacy. But that sense of community is one of the elements that intrigued Sister Clinton most about being a nun. "Within the community life, there is an atmosphere of gen– erosity and giving as well as the elements of sharing, of commit– ment together in this life and of understanding," she explains . "Many people are grappling with a sense of 'Where am I going in life?' and 'Where am I to be?' I think I found that in the Society of the Sacred Heart."

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